Messageboard

About this_is_qhm from the Philippines: I love the intricate vocal harmonies only Mariah can make.

Re: Bianca (61,418) (61,421) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines While I agree that it would be hilarious if Bianca provided the commentary for Mariah's docu-series, I'd only be for it if they tone down her makeup. She looked quite draggy in those pics she shared recently, and that is no shade to drag queens in any way (they're great), but that is no compliment to Mariah either, a beautiful woman who, incomparable talent aside, is also known for her femininity. (Tuesday 19 April 2016; 11:55)

It's Bianca, bitch (61,341) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines While I'm happy for Bianca's return, my evil alter ego is just ready to cut whoever is responsible for, dare I say it, making her look like a contender in Ru Paul's Drag Race. Look, I speak for both my Jekyll and Hyde that I know nothing about makeup, but I know when it's too damn much. Now where's that makeup artist as we're about to have an epic bathroom brawl circa 1999. (Saturday 16 April 2016; 6:29)

Re: Mariah Carey's collaborators share untold... (61,320) (61,322) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I feel like the reason why Mariah isn't as respected as her 90s peers, except maybe for Celine, is that most critics and the public don't look too kindly upon commercial success, as if it somehow takes away the artistic and critical merit of a song when it becomes a massive hit. She has always been regarded as a singer whose talent was one for the record books than the great American songbook. Her soulfulness has always been questioned. I used to fuss about this, but eventually I realized that at the end of the day, she's still had a phenomenal career, and that in reality, only a small portion of the music-loving public would actually give a damn about critical success. The rest of them just care about what sounds good - and Mariah's output, at the very least, sounds great (caps) 95% of the time. (Friday 15 April 2016; 12:32)

Re: Sprung (61,295) (61,297) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Yes, that's it - it is Halloween-y. Thank you. The beat is sick as well. (Thursday 14 April 2016; 12:46)

Sprung (61,294) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Quirky is a word I wouldn't usually use to describe any of Mariah's songs. Her material ranges from opulent to downright "hood". But the production in this one song from her is just weird. Maybe some of the background sounds are appropriate and even cute in a literal way as they do seem to "spring". Personally, they can be a little disorienting when I concentrate on them. Mariah seems to strain a bit at the chorus, but it's a nice bonus track and a unique addition to her brilliant catalog. (Thursday 14 April 2016; 10:45)

Re: Article: Rihanna tops Hot 100 for eighth week (61,233) (61,237) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Disregard my first reply, they were referring to weeks spent on top, not the number of chart toppers. (Tuesday 12 April 2016; 11:48)

Re: Article: Rihanna tops Hot 100 for eighth week (61,233) (61,236) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Maybe they meant as a solo artist. The Beatles were a group. (Tuesday 12 April 2016; 11:44)

Re: The metamorphosis of Mimi (61,226) (61,235) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I love it too, that's why I also love Janet Jackson, but as pretty and dreamy those layered vocals are, they can get in the way of understanding the lyrics to the song (i.e. Boy (I Need You), Ribbon, Loverboy), making them harder to relate to for lyric-savvy music lovers. They also make her songs more difficult to sing. At her prime, she got away with swirling harmonies atop choirs of Mariah's (Fantasy, Honey, Heartbreaker) because she couldn't do anything wrong back then. This time, maybe save the more intricate songs for album tracks and push the more straightforward vocal performances as singles. (Tuesday 12 April 2016; 8:22)

Re: Future releases (61,209) (61,210) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines As evinced by the recent chart toppers, it's getting harder to pinpoint which sound is gonna be a hit these days. Like how do you go from Hello to Work? But like you said, Mariah's next single should be simple. She's really fond of vocal layering, and somehow that has become her trademark, but this time maybe simple harmonies will do. And of course the production should be minimalist. Less is more to highlight her vocals, which should be able to be replicated live, by the way. Sounds familiar? Yeah, we just described We Belong Together, but we're not looking for yet another recreation of that. Lyrically, though, that's the standard. But Mariah, come on, surprise us. (Monday 11 April 2016; 13:21)

Article: Mariah Carey skips "American Idol" finale (61,166) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines First of all, congrats on the wise decision, Mariah. Who needs a show that has been a sinking ship since season 9 anyway? Funny how the writer of this article just focused on the Mariah-JLo feud and "neglected" to mention about Mariah's remarks about the show after she left. I guess it probably didn't occur to her/him that Mariah may not have been invited to do or say something in the first place? She was the only judge after all who was brave enough to call the show out. All I see is a writer choosing to perpetuate the feud between the girls to perpetuate it, intentionally leaving out the possibility it may actually be a feud between Mariah and the show. Classy. (Saturday 9 April 2016; 1:26)

To be fair (61,134) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Could Mariah put in a little more effort during meet and greets? Sure. Can her falling short of that in any way be valid grounds to hold her against her constant utterance of the phrase "doing it for the fans"? Sure. Is she the only artist who does this, though? She isn't. Should that excuse her? No. But we can't paint her or her team as people who deliberately rip fans off either. That makes them heartless monsters, and Mariah isn't like that, despite being the savvy businesswoman that she is. I'm sorry for fans who feel that they didn't get their money's worth. To some degree, I understand how it feels like to save up for something and feel let down. But at the end of the day this is Mariah we're talking about. The same woman whose music brought us all here in the first place. (Friday 8 April 2016; 13:44)

Re: Emotions (61,125) (61,133) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines True. Other singers may hit those high notes effortlessly while current Mariah has to lower the key, but even then, only she can give it the sense of urgency and extra oomph. The fact that she wrote it and understands how it came about in the first place makes the difference. (Friday 8 April 2016; 13:13)

Re: Infinity (61,120) (61,132) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Theory: I feel like it wouldn't be as hated if it actually reached #1. That may not make sense, I know, but if a song is a hit, it's gonna spark some herd mentality. Eventually people are gonna be curious as to why or how it accomplished such feat. That sense of intrigue may slowly help the song grow on some people. And that can be infectious. For instance, Rihanna is Rihanna and her releases may be guaranteed success on hype alone because she still is hot stuff. But a song like Work is definitely acquired taste, and seriously, who could have expected it to stay that long atop the charts? How? Herd mentality. Once a song tops the charts, it could pique your interest long enough to come to like it. If that happened to Infinity, we may not necessarily have warmed up to it, but we would have appreciated it because it was her 19th #1. (Friday 8 April 2016; 13:08)

Re: Article: Mariah hasn't sung her biggest hit once on current tour (61,077) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines A Glitter medley would be awesome. At least the inclusion of Loverboy tells us that Mariah still acknowledges that period of her life and is mature enough to move on without completely shutting it out, at least not musically. For quite some time I believed that she's just going to pretend it didn't happen. Maybe it's a stretch to hear her finally sing Lead The Way live or perform Never Too Far, even just as a medley with Hero, but hey, baby steps I guess. (Wednesday 6 April 2016; 8:30)

The tour is working II (61,067) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Mariah's getting better at navigating her way through her more challenging songs to avoid the more difficult parts to sing during her performances. Her ad libs were always good - she just has that talent, but now the way she does them makes them sound more natural and seem less like a cop out. And since I'm in a forum of the queen of shade where posters have been well-trained to detect even the slightest hint of shade (haha), I assure you that I meant this observation as a compliment. Also, she's regaining her confidence, which is always a good thing. (Tuesday 5 April 2016; 23:58)

Re: New interview (61,026) (61,048) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Best, sanest, most interesting interview in a while. Finally, some self-awareness in terms of her contributions to music. (Tuesday 5 April 2016; 14:28)

Re: SSFT Olso 2016 vocals (60,998) (61,003) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Best rendition of My All from this tour and in recent years. (Sunday 3 April 2016; 13:03)

Best TV move (61,001) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines In my opinion, the best career move that she can do on TV right now isn't guesting on Empire. I have this feeling that they're just gonna go the easy route and write her has a diva on that show, and we all know the public has had more than enough of that. She should host and perform on Saturday Night Live. Be funny, very meta and self-deprecating in all of her skits. Show a wider audience that she not only still has the musical chops but the sense of humor as well. Her usual guest spots on talk shows - she can have those too, but sadly they don't seem to generate much public interest. (Sunday 3 April 2016; 11:23)

The tour is working (61,000) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Other than rekindling relationships with fans and former ones, the best thing this tour is doing for Mariah is warming her voice up. She isn't quite there yet, but at least she sound a little more consistent these days. Baby steps and we'll get there. We can all breathe knowing that other than the frequent splashes, it was also the law of disuse after all. (Sunday 3 April 2016; 11:16)

Re: Not a fan anymore (60,957) (60,963) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I actually quite like Dangerous Woman and Be Alright. And not ironically, I'm surprised. Dangerous Woman sounds like an Christina outtake from her Stripped album. Be Alright is pleasant, but does not build up to anything at all and apparently, is the subject of a current plagiarism case. No one sounds completely original these days, but it seems that Ariana's identity so far is all about borrowing heavily from other artists. That does not bode well for her in the long run. But still, like someone mentioned here before, we need people who have talent in the mainstream music world and she's a few of those who can actually sing, no matter how much of a Herculean act it is to decipher the lyrics behind her mumbles. (Friday 1 April 2016; 12:17)

Re: Rihanna new #1 (60,945) (60,959) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Exactly. Sure, Mariah's had her share of forgettable #1s (IDWC, TGIFY, DFAU) but the fact that the public can still remember at least 10 of them speaks volumes (VOL, Emotions, IBT, Dreamlover, Hero, Fantasy, ABMB, My All, WBT, TMB). It's a shame that When We Were Young wasn't that successful. But that was the wrong choice for a second single. She should have gone with Send My Love (To Your New Lover). It would have been a nice contrast to Hello. (Friday 1 April 2016; 10:48)

Re: Awkward interview (60,922) (60,929) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Love Tried To Welcome Me proves just how much of a chameleon Madonna is musically. Say what you want about the woman, but she really has tried dabbling in everything with mostly successful results. The lyrics are just so poetic and touching. I often play that back-to-back with Forbidden Love and Take A Bow. Perfect opulent mellow trifecta for rainy nights. (Wednesday 30 March 2016; 9:13)

Re: Awkward interview (60,918) (60,923) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Discovering Kylie in retrospect, huh? If you wanna avoid the cheesy, go as far as her self-titled effort in 1994. Her debut album is also self-titled, but only with her first name. Maybe you can even go as far as Let's Get To It (1991). It's nice to find someone who appreciates Bedtime Stories as well. I especially love it due to the Babyface productions in it, particularly Take A Bow, which I feel is his best work as producer. Melt Away comes second. I guess by your joke that makes me a bad lamb as well, haha. (Tuesday 29 March 2016; 23:57)

Re: Awkward interview (60,904) (60,913) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Being able to appreciate artists other than Mariah should not not make anyone a bad lamb. It just makes you an open-minded music fan. And Ray Of Light is a great album, although I'm more of a Bedtime Stories fan, as it's similar to other moody masterpieces of that period (Older, The Velvet Rope, Kylie Minogue, and of course, Butterfly). (Tuesday 29 March 2016; 12:39)

Article: Mariah Carey is happier than ever at 46 (60,912) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Best, most honest and fair Mariah article I have read in quite a long time. My favorite part is how the writer was able to incorporate all these bits quoted from her at different points throughout her entire career - and cohesively. It's impressive as it is expressive. It's a shame only a few articles like this are written these days. I hope Mariah's docu-series is as refreshingly truthful, revealing and candid as this is. (Tuesday 29 March 2016; 12:31)

MORE MESSAGES